Following his death in 1994, Sir
Harold Acton bequeathed La Pietra in Florence, Italy and his fortune
to New York University, so that the villa and its collections could
be preserved and the 57-acre estate, including four other villas, could
be used for academic purposes. Currently the academic program is open
to undergraduate students from NYU and other universities and covers
many areas including economics, political science, business and sociology,
as well as Italian Renaissance art and Tuscan gardening.